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CNN's Roland S. Martin Tackles Real Issues

issues people care about in â€œ7 Weeks to Go,â€ special -- the first in a series of three panel discussions on the presidential election will air on CNN Saturday, September 13th and Sunday, September 14th at 8:00 pm (ET).

Mudslinging, word jabs, and a pig in a poke – that is the gist of what America is dealing with in terms of this presidential race, so far. There appears to be grave concern right now, that in the heat of battle for our next Commander in Chief, the issues of every day Americans are falling by the wayside.CNN political analyst and radio talk show host, Roland S. Martin has devised a solution which will be presented as a three-part CNN special television series that will include viewer interactive, no holds barred, panel discussions, to get right to the nitty-gritty of the matters that voters really care about -- discrimination; the forgotten middle-class in the midst of economic crises; how age, race and gender will influence the election and if, in fact, bias will override the issues.When asked the significance of his CNN special as opposed to other media election coverage, Martin told BSN, “We want to confront bias head on and show the reality. If you recall, in the 2004 election, George W. Bush won Iowa by about 10,000 votes. He won the mixed vote by 6,000. John Kerry won New Hampshire by 9,000 votes and he won Delaware by 23,000 votes. That means that 19 Electoral College votes were decided by less than 15,000 votes in four states. So when people say that it’s really no big deal because only a small percentage of Americans are going to vote based upon bias, it is a big deal, and it is significant. So, we have to confront it. We also want to discover if they are really addressing the issues that middle class voters truly care about, or is it just a matter of politics. The last show we’re doing is going to be a live show dealing with the first presidential debate where we will focus on matters that the candidates didn’t talk about.”The first in the series entitled, “7 Weeks to Go,” will air on CNN Saturday, September 13th and Sunday, September 14th at 8:00 pm (ET). Martin’s guests will include Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, host of TLC’s Shalom in the Home, political writer, Amanda Carpenter of townhall.com; cultural critic Michaela Angela Davis; CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta; Joe Madison, talk radio host for WOL-AM in Washington, D.C.; Irshad Manji, Director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University; Joe Pagliarulo, conservative talk radio host for KTRH in Houston; CNN contributor, Leslie Sanchez; Drew Westen, author of The Political Brain; and Martha Zoller, conservative talk radio host for WDUN in Gainesville, GA. The panelists will discuss how age, race and gender have influenced this election and whether bias, rather than the issues, could be a deciding factor on Election Day.The second, entitled, “6 Weeks to Go,” respectively, is set to air on CNN Saturday, September 20th and Sunday, September 21st at 8:00 pm (ET) and will examine economic struggles oppressing middle-class America.The third and final segment in the series, “5 Weeks to Go,” airing on CNN Saturday, September 27th at 8:00 pm (ET), will be the post-debate program where Martin and panelists will discuss what the candidates did not address.Viewers will be allowed to participate in the discussions via email and phone.

Tune in to CNN, Channel 10 New York, NY, Channel 25, Brooklyn, NY and visit www.CNN.com for further channeling information.You may also join Roland S. Martin for his weekly sound-off segment on CNN.com Live at 11:10 a.m. Wednesday. If you're passionate about politics, he wants to hear from you. A nationally syndicated columnist and Chicago-based radio host, he is the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith" and "Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America." Please visit his Website www.rolandsmartin.comBrenda Jeanne Wyche is Managing Editor for Harlem Business News. If you have a solution, contact Brenda@blackstarnews.com . Maybe we’ll talk.To subscribe to or advertise in New York’s leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper, please call (212) 481-7745 or send a note to Milton@blackstarnews.comAlso visit out sister publications Harlem Business News www.harlembusinessnews.com and The Groove music magazine at www.thegroovemag.com“Speaking Truth To Empower.”